Artificial Food Dye: This is pretty much everywhere because real food doesn’t come in every color of the rainbow. It’s made from petroleum. As in, the stuff they pump out of the ground to make gasoline. It’s been found to cause brain cancer, nerve-cell deterioration, and hyperactivity. It’s banned in Norway, Finland, Austria, France, and the UK.

Olestra or Olean: It’s the cooking oil substitute that is found in “fat-free” potato chips and french fries. It’s bad because it blocks your body’s ability to absorb nutrients causing vitamin depletion and something horrible called anal leakage. You won’t find this in the UK or Canada.

Brominated vegetable oil: This makes food dye stick to liquids rather than separating out after sitting still for awhile. What’s bad is that this chemical is also used to prevent carpets from catching fire. BVO is bad because has been linked to major organ system damage, birth defects, growth problems, schizophrenia, and hearing loss. Over 100 countries have said no to BVO.

Potassium bromate (bromated flour): This is probably in every commercially produced bread item you can think of, like wraps, rolls, bagel chips, and flat breads. It’s used to speed up the baking process. If it sounds familiar, it’s related to BVO, and it’s been shown to cause kidney damage, cancer, and nervous system damage. You won’t find this in Europe, Canada, or China.

Azodicarbonamide: This is used to bleach flour… and yoga mats. You’ll find it in breads (think white bread), boxed pasta mixes, and packaged baked goods. It’s been known to trigger asthma. Australia, the UK, and most of Europe have been this chemical.

BHA & BHT: These are waxy preservatives that you’ll find in cereals, nut mixes, gum, butter. The preservatives keep food from going bad. While it make keep a Twinkie good for 20 years, but it causes cancer in rats. It’s been banned in England, Japan, and many European countries.

Synthetic growth hormones rBGH & rBST: Messing with hormones is just bad. It’s bad for cows and bad for people too, causing infertility, weakened muscle growth, and a variety of cancers. These particular hormones can be found in milk and dairy products, but you won’t find them in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, or the EU.

Arsenic: This is poison, pure and simple. It’s put in chicken feed to make their meat look pinker. Eating too much will accumulate in your system and kill you. It’s banned in the EU.